Album by jjonas
Gallery category: members-gallery
Pics of my midibox SID.
I used and old C64 case to host the stuff, painted matte black.
I used and old C64 case to host the stuff, painted matte black.
Left side of the panel.
Middle of the panel.
Right side of the panel.
View on the inside (1 core, 2 SIDs + CS stuff)
Core.
I tried to use connectors wherever possible, makes it easier to shuffle stuff around and for troubleshooting.
Pile of DIN/DOUT modules.
The DIN/DOUT modules can be stacked nicely inside the case (just about!).
Closeup from the inside.
The 3mm LEDs stay surprisingly firmly in the holes I drilled. First I planned to use hot glue to secure them in their place, but in the end there was no need.
LED matrix
The origical C64 connectors.
Internal PSU unit
Closeup of the panel 1
Closeup of the panel 2
Closeup of the panel 3
MIDIbox SID External unit for core+2SID
Having used individual PCBs for all core & SID modules, I could fit only three cores + six SIDs (plus CS stuff) inside the Commodore64 box. However I managed to get around the problem by building the 4th core inside an old digibox shell, which is connected to the main unit through one of the original c64 9-pin connectors; nine pins was just enough to make all the necessary connections: (1). GND, (2). 5 VDC, (3). 14 VDC, (4). Audio GND, (5). Audio L, (6). Audio R, (7). CAN bus, (8). J11:1, (9). J11:2. It’s no hot-pluggable, attempting to do so will result in a reboot.
External unit’s connector
Extrenal unit from the inside
This is the external unit from the inside. In addition to the expected core+2SID there is, on the lower left corner, an LED to signal the thing is on
plus in the upper left corner a socket for external audio (which isn’t working at the moment).
External unit from behind
Main unit from the inside with 3core+6SID
This is why I had to start building an external unit.. what a mess!
1541 PSU + 4th core (front)
I ditched my self-built PSU along with the exteranal unit for the 4th core in order to fit them both inside an old 1541 disk drive. It’s bulky, but it’s handier having only one external thingy in addition to the synthesizer itself - plus it fits the theme perfectly! I painted it black like the synth. Naturally I had to remove the actual drive, but I managed to preserve the latch that holds the disk in place while it’s in the drive by gluing it into the front panel from inside. So too bad it doesn’t move, but it looks more real with it in place
1541 PSU + 4th core (back)
I managed to re-use the original labels in the back, and all of the back stuff (switch, fuse, mains in) is functional as well.
1541 PSU + 4th core (inside)
Originally I though to keep the PSU and 4th core separate (like when the PSU and the external unit were in separate boxes), so that the PSU would feed the voltage into the synth, and then a separate cable would bring it back to the 4th core; there would need to be a cable coming back from the synth anyway for audio/CAN etc anyway, and there was enough pins. But apparently the voltage loss was a tiny wee bit too much, like I think it was already with the first external unit, which sometimes worked, sometimes didn’t; I’m not 100% sure this was the reason, but all problems disappeared when I fed the core 5VDC straight from after the PSU’s regulator. With the 6581s run by the core and their 12V it didn’t matter because there was enough voltage to lose even when bringing it in with the cable from the synth. — The earlier PSU had the problem of getting hot, I don’t know if it was too much or not, but anyway with this the regulator is attached to the 1541s original cooling element, which in turn is attached (with silicon paste in between) to the metal frame, which should have enough surface to cool the regulator
I put a fan there for just in case as well
Knobs
Finally I got myself some knobs, some Dutch guy was selling these for real cheap on eBay, about 20c a piece. I had to shorten the encoder shafts and drill the knobs a bit deeper, but they are firmly in place. Should they fall out I can always re-fasten them with hot glue..
Toroid + cooling element
Volume knob
I put a headphone jack in the back, and this knob controls the volume it puts out.
MBsid top
Midibox SID v2 with one sound chip built into a datassette case.
All the original buttons are functional: Rec, Play, Rew, FFwd = MB buttons 1-5, Eject = menu.
MBsid inside 1
Apart from the core PCB I etched the boards (2x SID + DIN2) myself with the laser printer & clothes iron method. Bankstick was built on veroboard. I couldn’t get the other sid module working, I’m not sure whether it’s the parts or the board, the etch quality was not the best. I decided to go with just one chip for now and leave the second chip as an option for the future.
The empty space in the front is reserved for the buttons.
MBsid inside 2
Here’s how I used the datassette buttons to operate the actual buttons. I cut out most of the supporting metal structure of the buttons inside the case and installed a self-made metal support for the actual buttons. The white-black-red wire bundle on the right connects the 5V regulator (visible in the pic) to the core PCB; the regulator is connected to the buttons’ metal support in order to use it as a heat sink.
MBsid back
Connections are still a bit unfinished. The 9VAC socket will be a nice fit, just like the mono jack already is, but perhaps the midi IN and OUT have to remain more or less like this. Unless I find the energy to carve holes for them and bend the connectors to fit the datassette’s shape..
MBsid detail
The save light hole has been used to house the Shift button (which is hot-glued in place). The Up/Down buttons will be in the counter hole. There’s still a place for one more button in the counter reset hole
External filter box wiring inside the MB6582
This pic shows the wiring inside the MB6582 for an external filter box, attached to the main unit with the extension port. The wires provide:
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+12VDC
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-12VDC
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CORE4_J6 (5 pins, including +5 & GND)
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CORE4_J5 (1 pin for digital switch)
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Left & right audio send (from CORE4 SIDS)
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Left & right audio return
SSM2044 filter pcb stacked with two AOUT_LCs
SSM2044 (seppoman) filter PCB stacked with two AOUT_LCs. Switch & red LED for switching bipolar 12VDC on/off, green LED for indicating whether the filter is switched to on or bypass (LED connected to CORE4_J5 digital switch pin).
External filter box
I salvaged the box from my workplace’s junk pile. Miraculously it’s just big enough to house two AOUT_LC + filter PCB stacks really snugly.
